19. CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 19

All thoughts of happiness he'd been feeling since realizing he was pregnant vanished the moment he heard Ford cry out there were Alphas approaching from the east. He didn't hesitate to run into the jail to get the weapons he would need.

"Fill a bag with ammo," Westland told him. "I'll grab several guns."

When he had two backpacks filled with ammo, he met Westland at the door. "Which location are we headed to?" the Alpha asked.

Ford hadn't been the only one to report attackers, but all he knew was he had to help his friend. Plus, if the Alphas were smart, they'd burn Lowen's crops, effectively starving the town. Well, unless they planned on taking over completely, then they'd leave them alone.

Still, Coleson wasn't about to let them have Sanctuary. This was their town and he would defend it at all costs. "East. We have to protect the farm."

Westland gave him a nod before racing to the nearest vehicle. They didn't have many that worked, but Ford had been doing his best to fix them, at least the electric ones, as it was too big of a challenge to try to get gas this side of the Mississippi.

Just as they got in, Ira, Joah, and Ehen jumped into the bed of the truck, each holding a rifle. "Hurry up, we need to help Ford," Ira yelled.

Westland threw the truck into gear and hit the gas. It took way too long, even though the gas pedal was all the way to the floor. "You need to ask where they're locate…"

Gunfire cut him off.

"I think we found them," Coleson told him.

The tires slid on the gravel as Westland made a sharp turn to where the sound of the guns came from. The moment they saw Ford, Lowen, and the others who had been patrolling that side of town, Coleson had assumed they would stop, but Westland had other plans.

"Hold on," the Alpha yelled to him and the others in the back before veering off the driveway and across the yard straight toward the Alphas who were shielding themselves from being shot behind the barn.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Coleson had barely gotten the words out when their truck hit the first Alpha, but it wasn't long before all ten of them had gone flying through the air or pulled under their tires as Westland ran them down.

"Holy fuck." Ehen then laughed manically. "That's one way to stop them."

The moment the truck slammed to a stop, they poured out of the vehicle, ready to fire if any of the Alphas got up. They were quickly joined by Lowen, Ford, and the others.

"Thanks," Lowen said. "They had surprised us and we ended up getting pinned behind the combine with little ability to get in a clean shot. We weren't going to last much longer to stop them before they were able to come right up to us."

There were several moans coming from the Alphas. "Do you have any rope to tie up the ones who are still alive?" Coleson asked. Funny how Renzo just commented on not needing all the jail cells working, but apparently they might end up using them after all.

Once they had the ones who still had a pulse tied up, they put them in the back of the truck. The four who had died would be buried another time. First, they had more Alphas to fight off. "I'll take them to the jail and then see if help is needed at the docks," Westland offered.

Coleson and Ehen climbed into the bed of the truck with guns ready to ensure somehow the Alphas didn't get free while Lowen and the others took off for the west of town. One of the last Alphas to have been hit by the truck fared much better than the others and was sneering at him. "When I get free, I'm going to take pleasure by making you scream, Omega."

"That's big talk from someone who is hogtied," he taunted back. But when the Alpha opened his mouth to threaten him again, Coleson slammed the butt of his gun against the guy's temple and knocked his ass out. He was regretting his decision not to just kill these guys.

"You did the right thing," Ehen told him.

Sometimes it sucked that his friends knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.

Once they locked up the Alphas, without bothering to untie them, they headed for the dock. Smelling fire, they ran as fast as they could, afraid their attackers were burning down the town. What he hadn't expected was the sight of a ship burning as it floated on the river.

"Uhm…" he started, but he just didn't have any words at the moment, so he pointed to the nearly destroyed boat.

Kelce shrugged. "It was your Alpha's idea. I just made it happen."

Huh?

"What about the Alphas?" Westland asked.

"Dead," Kelce said, as if it were no big deal.

The thing was, Coleson was no longer certain he cared if they died. He might not like the idea of killing, but he also wasn't about to have the people he cared about hurt. Speaking of which, "Do we have any causalities?"

Oxley nodded. "None died that we know of, but there are at least fifteen who were shot and are at the hospital. We have heard nothing from the other locations yet. I was just about to head east and help Lowen protect the farm."

"No need," Westland said. "We took care of them. There are six Alphas currently locked in jail. Not certain they'll all live considering their injuries, but they aren't going anywhere."

"He ran them over with a truck," Ehen told Oxley. "It was awesome."

Westland shrugged. "It seemed like the most expedient way to resolve the situation."

"Okay then," Oxley said. "I guess I'll head west then. Anyone want to join me?"

They loaded up four vehicles, but not everyone could fit. Coleson stayed behind. He wanted to check on Renzo to see if he needed help at the hospital. Some of the others went to work cleaning up the dock and keeping an eye on the boat that was still on fire to make certain it didn't get too close and burn their dock.

The moment he stepped into the hospital, Coleson knew he'd made the right decision to come and help. There were two gurneys who had sheets pulled up over the heads of whoever was on them. Not certain he wanted to know who had died, Coleson braced himself for seeing their faces.

He may not want to look, but the two dead deserved better than to be ignored. He pulled down the first sheet. Abbott. Damn. He'd been one of those Ford and Lowen had freed in Memphis. Before being taken, he'd been going to school to become a teacher and loved to learn. He'd volunteered to teach those Omegas who'd never been allowed to go to school how to read and write.

After covering him up again, he pulled down the second sheet and tears fell. Zuko. One of his best friends. As much as he wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry for the friend he lost, if the frantic sounds coming from the ER were anything to go by, Renzo and the others needed help.

His Alpha was performing surgery with Maxon assisting him. That had to have killed Maxon to realize they'd lost Zuko. Those two had been thick as thieves growing up. Pushing aside his grief, he went over to Esad, who was holding a cup of water for Shyamal to drink from the straw in it.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

Shyamal stopped drinking. "Is it over? Did we win? Are we safe?"

"The Alphas that were trying to dock are dead and their boat has burned down. The ones coming from the east, Westland ran over with a truck. Those who didn't die from that are in a cell at the jail and I haven't heard from the west yet." He really hoped they would be able to defeat whoever was coming from that direction. "But we sent reinforcements to help fight them off."

Shyamal sank back onto the gurney in relief. "I hope they kill them all."

Yeah, Coleson wasn't certain, but he doubted anyone would vote to keep the Alphas in their jail alive. He didn't exactly regret putting them there, but at the same time, he honestly would not feel safe with them alive, either.

"Dr. Grealy is working on the last patient brought in now," Esad told him. "Geraurd and I are helping those he already worked on to get cleaned up and taken to a room in case anyone else is brought in."

Thirty minutes later, they had everyone in rooms and most of the ER cleaned up. "Hey," Renzo came over to him after washing his hands from the surgery. "You okay?"

Was he? Deciding it was best to be honest, he shook his head. "I'm not sure that I am."

"I'm sorry about Zuko," Renzo murmured in his ear. "The bullet hit an artery, and he bled out before I could even get him opened up."

He held on tightly to his Alpha, soaking up his comfort and borrowing some of his strength. "I'll mourn for him later. We have more incoming. I just heard from Ford, who said they killed the Alphas who were attacking us, but there are at least eight more hurt that they're rushing here."

Renzo kissed his ear. "I love you, my Omega."

"I love you too, my Alpha."

Minutes later, the ER once more was filled and Renzo was busy trying to save as many as he could. It was good that they defeated their enemy, but at what cost? There were at least two dead and more than a dozen injured. Yeah, maybe they technically fared better than the other side, but he wasn't certain how they would keep Sanctuary safe permanently.

But that was a problem for another day. Right now, he had a town to put back together again and people to mourn. At least he wouldn't have to do that alone. His Alpha would be there by his side, encouraging him to step up and be the Omega he was meant to be.